Sunday, 30 October 2005

Now that daylight saving has arrived at last, we will be meeting for training onMondays - 5:30pm Parliament House, rain hail or shine, andTuesdays - 5:30pm Salkauskas Crescent, North Lyneham, hopefully shine but come along anyway.

The Daniels sprint series results from Thursday are up on the ACTVAC website - including a table of progress scores, summarised below with Team Moore members bolded.The final result is the best six of eight, so if you didn't compete there are plenty more chances. The next Daniels race is a 200m on 10 November.

There was also a card for 30-35 kms which I didn't find; I think it read "now throw caution to the winds".

You can see there were specific time goals and specific thoughts I wanted in my head at each stage.

For all distances it is seriously useful to break down the event into specific sections with their own goals. Even a 100 m sprinter only focuses on the start, at the start! 1500 metre runners do better if they have a plan for each lap than if they do not; for 800 meters, a plan for each 200.

A very good training session is the 1km interval session - it helps focus runners on 1km at a time. I suggest that all races from 3k to 8k be considered "1km interval" sessions with no break, and each km planned and raced independently of the other kms.

And for cross country races, if you can train on the course of an important race, do your interval session there. We did km interval work on the Pinnacle course here in Canberra one season way back. It sure helped when it came to race day.

Thursday, 27 October 2005

No photo was taken while I was either (a) running across the causeway to Granite Island, or (b) running the six laps of the island (you can see the track I came DOWN on each lap in the background), or (c) racing the horse drawn tram that took most tourists to the island (800 metres, and they still had to walk when they got there). However, this one shows me about to resume running across the causeway. You can see the tracks the tram runs along, too.

From my clenched fists and the jiggling on my toes, either it is very cold, or I am very keen to get going, or I forgot to go before I went.

Wednesday, 26 October 2005

The modern obsession with being busy is diminishing our lives, writes Hugh Mackay.

'How are you going? All right?" used to be the standard Australian greeting, incorporating our charming tendency to answer our own questions. But we've now adopted a more sinister form of greeting that sounds like a symptom of a society in the throes of madness.

"How are you going? Busy?" is the new greeting and, to my shame, I actually used it recently when I ran into a friend at a concert. "Busy?" I asked, before I could stop myself. "Ah," he wisely replied, "just busy enough to justify telling people I'm still busy."

Busyness has become the new badge of honour. If you're not busy, you must be dead, or on the scrapheap. If you're not busy, you must have fallen victim to the demon drink or gone to the dogs. Not busy? Good grief, what a loser.

"How are you going? Busy?" is like a relentless spur we use to urge each other on, creating a personal version of the old Cold War promise of "mutually assured destruction": if we all stay busy - if we cling to each other in this desperate, dizzy dance - none of us will notice what's actually happening to us and we'll all be dead before we realise it.

So why all this frenetic busyness - or, at least, the need to maintain the appearance of it? When did we decide that having a full plate was a virtue? Whatever happened to the idea that we need time to nurture our personal relationships, to think, or even not to think? ("Don't just do something - sit there!" sounds like a smarter injunction than the original version.)

For some of us, the seeds were sown in childhood when we were assured that "Satan finds mischief for idle hands to do". No one mentioned what goes on at the other end of the spectrum, where Satan's greatest mischief is keeping us so busy that we don't have time to ponder the mysteries and meanings of our lives.

"If you want something done, ask a busy man to do it" was another maxim tossed around in my youth. I'm sure it was meant as a compliment: busy people are better organised, the folklore ran. Now, I'd be inclined to see it as an insult: if someone is foolish enough to have taken on too much, they'll probably be foolish enough to take on one more thing.

It goes without saying that, up to a point, staying active is likely to keep you young. Mild levels of stress are apparently good for us. Some structure in the day gives us a necessary sense of purpose.

But it's very easy to slip over the line that divides healthy activity from busyness for its own sake, and to assume that inactivity is somehow letting the side down.

When it comes to working hours, we've gone berserk. We work longer hours than most comparable countries: in overtime alone, the full-time workforce is absorbing thousands of jobs that could have gone to someone else.

The British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell once proposed a four-hour day, and he was only half-joking. His point was not only that, with a bit of reorganisation, this would guarantee enough work for everyone, but that we might then turn our minds to the wiser use of leisure and the enrichment of our lives.

His observation, back in 1935, was that people were working such long hours that they were too tired to enjoy active and civilising leisure pursuits, so they fell into passive forms of recreation - going to the cinema, watching sport, listening to other people play music, etc.

For Russell, the combination of more education (especially in the liberal arts) and more leisure was a recipe for a more creative, fulfilling and contented life. And that seems to accord with present social research: people typically say they are concerned about the lack of balance in their lives, but seem powerless to do much about it.

Or do we really like being too busy? Is busyness the great escape from emotional engagement with the rest of our lives?

The ancient Latin poet Ovid may have got it right: "You who seek an end of love, love will yield to business: be busy and you will be safe." In other words, if you stay busy enough, you'll be protected from the demands of love. Plenty of wise heads have echoed that sentiment.

Perhaps it is time to take stock and ask ourselves why all this rushing, all this pressure, all this busyness? Is it a sign of our inefficiency that we can't organise ourselves to spend fewer hours at work? Are we consumed by hubris, to the point of believing we are indispensable?

Are we, perhaps, compensating for emotional emptiness at the centre of our lives; distracting ourselves from some cosmic loneliness?

Or are we, as Ovid implies, merely trying to avoid the risks, the demands and the joys of love?

Hugh Mackay is a social researcher. This article originally published in the Age, 17 September 2005.

Tuesday, 25 October 2005

The advantage of training at Parliament House was demonstrated last night - despite lightning thunder pouring rain - again - we could do a decent training session in the underground car park and stay perfectly dry.

Funny place Canberra. We still have water restrictions in place. All the Cotter catchment dams are at 100% and overflowing. People reading on the weather channel that Canberra is at 64% don't realise that Googong is included, currently at 37%, which brings the average down. Massive amounts of water are going to be piped from the overflowing Cotter areas to Googong, starting in about two weeks time. Hope it's not too late. Did they build Googong in the wrong place?

People are surprised that we are continuing at Parliament House this summer. They should read this blog, shouldn't they?

So next week daylight saving starts, training continues at Parliament House on Mondays, and starts at North Lyneham on Tuesdays.

Monday, 24 October 2005

This Thursday night after track - unless track is all rained out and cancelled, which is unlikely, Team Moore will be making its first visit for the season to Zeffirelli at Belconnen. Even if you are not able to get to Vets track you could come along, although approximately 9:15 pm is fairly late to have dinner if you are not competing. Anyway, you are welcome. Just turn up, no booking necessary. Who knows, there might even be a celebratory champagne or two after a successful winter.

Sunday, 23 October 2005

Last month we had an awesome holiday at Port Elliot in South Australia.

Here are a few of the photos we took of our stay.

The accommodation was on the water front and pictured is a popular surfing spot viewed from our window.

There are kilometres of running trails - walking paths, cycle paths, quiet roads, and beaches - leading in both directions along the coast.

And a great pub around the corner where we had dinner a couple of times.

The town is picturesque with many old buildings.

Wildflowers are everywhere, and a few kms to the east is the Murray Mouth at Goolwa, and to the west Granite Island at Victor Harbour, and the Fleurieu Peninsula.

The apartment we stayed in was fantastic. If anyone is interested, get in touch with Encounter Holiday Rentals - their apartment at Port Elliot is called "Castaway" and is the best place of that type we have stayed at - and it is brand new.

Yes I know this is like an ad but we enjoyed the holiday very much.

Jenny had a brand new digital camera and was trying it out at every opportunity.

We had rain and storms on day one, but there's nothing like coastal weather when you are from land locked Canberra.

And on day one the winds were so strong I had to turn back on one run and wait for relative calm.

But on the last day I found some new trails down a river, and I will have to return soon to explore them!

Jenny saw some whales out in the bay one day, but they were too far out to see clearly or to be photographed.

It was nice to get away from everything.

We will be back. Although, I imagine it is a very popular spot in the summer holidays!

Saturday, 22 October 2005

The process of working towards a long term goal should be broken down into a number of steps, and you should plan to focus on only one step at a time.

Short term goals are the steps in the ladder of success.

In competition, what kinds of short term goals do athletes have? First there are “outcome” goals. Examples are – win a race; beat an opponent. These are the hardest to achieve as the outcome is not entirely in our control but also relies on how others perform. Then there are “performance” goals – run a particular time, clear a particular height. Coaches prefer working with performance goals rather than outcome goals because performance goals are easier to monitor and manage. Finally there are “technique” goals – such as, start fast and decisively when the gun fires; hold form through the finish line.

Best results are probably obtained when all three types of short term goals are in mind.

Attributes of good short term goals include – realistic and achievable – specific and measurable – allow you to take control – target a particular time or time frame (rather than “sometime”) – and are couched in positive terms.

An example of a short term training goal - if this week I ran a session of ten 200m intervals averaging 45 secs, then next week I might repeat the session and target 44 secs average.

An example of a short term racing goal - run an even paced 800 metres in 2:40.

Racing Principle #5 - Define short term goals.

Friday, 21 October 2005

Last night was an absolutely perfect night for track - mild, a little humid; still, not a breath of wind. There were not many people there though. Silly: the earlier rain probably deterred them, but everyone should know by now that rain at 3pm doesn't mean rain at 6pm. Team Moore runners were there in numbers however. I stupidly left my notes at the track - I hope someone has salvaged them for me. Good to see a few old faces turning up again - Michael Roden, Dale Moore for example. New faces included our own Charlie McCormack (12.19/2.50 3000/800 double) and Katie (2:52 800) both racing there for the first time.As for me I am able to jog a little, now. The sore calf improves daily.

Wednesday, 19 October 2005

Fairly obvious? Long term goals set the context for all other planning. If you want to break the age group record for 800 metres on the track, why would you plan to train and race as if you were a marathoner (for example)?

In a training and racing program reference points are essential. An athlete must have information as to where they are, where they have come from and where they are going. Part of a successful athletic program is making the right decisions as to when to compete and when to rest, when to increase training intensity and when to back off.

One should have identified two or three long term goals. Even though these are "dream goals", to be useful for setting the context, they need to be achievable, and they need to be specific.

Distance runners take years to develop - so their long term, dream goals, would usually span more than a year. And distance runners should not be changing their minds too often about what their goals are.

If you are anything like me you will start each new year with a fresh set of goals – sometimes recycled from previous years, sometimes new ones.

My goals are probably not like the typical new year resolutions of non-athletes. Most performance oriented athletes tend not to have hazy visions of possible futures which disappear after only a few weeks. They seem to be able to turn their long term goals and dreams into reality, with a little thought and planning.

Rarely are our goals couched in general terms like “get fitter”, “lose weight”, “improve times”. Usually our goals are more specific, like “break 30 seconds for 200m this year, or ” knock 5 minutes off my 10k time over the next two years”.

How can you best work towards making your long term goals a reality?

First, write down your goals, then discard any vague statements and replace them with more specific statements.

Second, having decided on a goal that you want to achieve, be committed to achieving the goal. Is it something you will be able to give priority to? Are the rewards of achieving it worth the effort involved?

Then third, do you believe you can achieve the goal? Goals should be challenging but also achievable, otherwise you will only get discouraged.

Last, the process of working towards your goal should be broken down into a number of steps, and you should plan to focus on only one step at a time.

Racing Principle #4 - Have Long Term Goals.

Tuesday, 18 October 2005

It's Tuesday and I am looking at another six months track season ahead. It's Tuesday and I am reflecting on the calf tear of eight day's ago. It's Tuesday and I had better start some serious rehabilitation.

Where to from here?

The calf tear isn't too bad; I can walk now, striding out a bit.

Little injuries like this are part of life for the regular runner. It's NOT running which is life threatening.

I had better start a plan of rehabilitation. First, in the short term, because the pain's nearly gone, and because I spent the first two days regularly icing it, I can now afford to exercise it even if it gets a bit sore. So I will apply some heat, then go for a walk/jog/shuffle, then massage and do some gentle calf stretches, then apply some ice and anti-inflammatory. And if it's still not sore, I will try alternating heat/ice, but if it comes up sore I will just do the icing for the time being.

And THIS time there are no pressing races on the horizon so I will forget about racing and speed.

The lesson is, don't ignore the warning signs. I'm pretty good at identifying warning signs now, but I was away when the calf got a bit tight, and didn't get the early treatment (massage) which would have fixed it.

Maybe another lesson is, don't enter races ahead of time! I knew that anyway, it was a risk. The problem is, national events require entry well in advance.

I should be OK in a couple of weeks.

Monday, 17 October 2005

"Plan races so that you have a day's break from racing for every mile raced."

This principle is so important, it is a repeat of "Conditioning Principle #3" which appeared in a post on 4 June. Most injuries are caused by disregarding this principle. I don't know how strongly I should emphasise this, so all I can say is, disregard it at your peril.

Let's spell it out.A mile is 1.6km. So after a 6k you must have at least four days break from racing.

5 miles is 8km – so you shouldn’t race in the next five days after an 8km race.

After a 10k race – always leave it for a full week before you race any distance again.

After a half marathon – two weeks.

A full marathon – you should plan a month’s break from racing. After a marathon it is also wise to avoid speed work in training for a couple of weeks.

These are guidelines and there will be individual differences. Mainly, some runners will need a longer break, particularly as you get older.

On the other hand, an assumption is that the racing is flat out. The principle does not apply if the race is run at training pace. An example of this is the two hour half marathon I ran this year; I ran slower than training pace, and recovery was pretty well immediate.

For a marathon however you should probably have the full month's recovery whatever the pace.

After any hard race, if you just keep on racing, as well as neglecting to allow your body and mind a complete and proper recovery time, you are also neglecting to spend quality training time building up to another level. Sure there is a time to race frequently: but there is also a time to have a break from racing and concentrate on training.

How much racing have you done recently? Can you risk ignoring this principle? Can you afford all the time it takes to recovery from staleness and injury? Could this time of year be a good time for you to have a break from racing? Or are you invulnerable?

Racing Principle #3 - Plan races so that you have a day's break from racing for every mile raced.

The 3000 is the launch of the "Geoff Moore 3000 championship series" :-o (Mentioned in last Vetrunner.)

The spiral is a novelty event which many enjoy. This week's is a 4 lapper. All spiral races are handicapped using the same system as the Sunday morning handicaps.

So see if you can arrive at 5:30pm to warm up, and decide if you want to focus on middle or long distances at this stage of the season. This week I should arrive early too as Peter Hogan and I will be meeting and greeting new people and helping them get started. Hoping to see you there. Rain or shine.

Monday, 10 October 2005

Last day of masters on the track and my chance to excel. And at last some fine weather although the breeze still hampers attempts to round the top bend. Anne sets her third ACT W70 record; Roger runs his squillianth event (only two events for him today; the pentathlon and the 5000); Michael Leahey runs his first race and gains silver in the M50 5000 (an excellent run).

After praising the organisers yesterday, I must say today that the organisation of the lap scorers for the 5k was woeful in the extreme; can't have everything done well I suppose.

For years I have been looking forward to my first run on Santos Stadium, as it is right next door to where I lived in Mile End from 1948 until 1969, and I think after today I can only say that I am still looking forward to my first run at Santos Stadium. I lined up for the M55 5000, the gun fired, away we went, I ran the first ten meters, and my left calf tore. The only other highlight for me was being taken in a wheelchair all the way around the track in front of the stand while the race continued for everyone else. (But please just tell my non-friends I was first to finish.) Fortunately the tear was very mild and should repair in a few days with proper treatment; "just a flesh wound" says Jenny (ha ha.), but it is enough for me to officially DNS the other races I have entered and come home early.

Summary of the 2005 Australian Masters - low standards with only a couple of exceptions; few interstate entrants; enthusiastic locals and a good venue; and lovely city, the best in Australia.

See you Thursday at training then!

Sunday, 9 October 2005

I went to the track yesterday for the second day of Masters' competition, primarily to watch the 1500s. The standard was pretty poor if you just look at the times; Team Moore could have won lots of golds in the various age groups. If you look at the weather though you might understand why the fields were down despite good entries and the times were slow. For example Anne Young ran 7:50 for her 1500 and the wind and rain and water on the track would have slowed her down lots. "Terrible terrible" she said, having just won the W70 gold and broken Juani's ACT record by about 35 seconds. My M55 1500 (which I DIDN'T run, not because of the weather, but because I think my calf would have broken had I ran it) was won in a slower time than I could normally run, and only six of the eighteen entrants ran in the race. Could I have run it without the injury? Probably not; one thing I know for sure is that I am very pleased I was not standing out there in the storm that hit the M55 runners a couple of minutes before the start as they stood out on the track.

Other fields were larger but the times still slow.

Roger ran about 5:13 for his M45 1500 and came fourth - he was very pleased.

Masters Day Three is today but I didn't go in; the weather has improved greatly although still no sun. There were the steeple and the 5000 walks on today; Roger was doing the steeple after competing in the triathlon in the morning.

By the way the SA organisation of the athletics component of the Masters Games is (as expected) excellent.

Well we watched "Life and Death of Peter Sellers" last night. Another great movie. Geoffrey Rush is a brilliant actor and the script of the film was better than I expected - full of surprises. Or is it that movies seem better if you see them when you are on holidays? Anyway, early night tonight (after the cricket) and rise and shine for a very early start tomorrow.

Friday, 7 October 2005

I rang Roger and talked to him around 11:30am, he had only just arrived and was going to run his 800 at 2:00pm.

Instead of driving the hour to the track to watch him and other Canberrans I stayed indoors and watched the cricket, my favourite batsman plundering the World XI's bowling. (They will have to import some bowlers from Venus or Mars to beat the Aussies, I reckon).

There are about sixty sports in the Masters, and many would have to be rescheduled I guess. What a nightmare! The competitors' packs all have big plastic raincoat thingies, good planning guys, well done.

The athletics had 100 heats and finals, 800s, 1500 walks on today. I will go out tomorrow, watch the 1500s, try out the track, and see if the program is the same as planned. The rain is supposed to ease but it has been raining since 10pm last night and it still is now at 6pm. Boy am I glad the 5k wasn't on today. Originally I wished it were on first so I could get it out of the way and have a run in the 1500. But not now.

Ha ha, Canberra will get this weather tomorrow.

Thursday, 6 October 2005

While waiting here in Adelaide for the Australian Masters Athletics component to start, I have been watching many DVDs, including all the Lano and Woodley episodes (great!) and The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy (pretty great). And here’s a movie review of something yet to arrive.

The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe, is coming (are coming?). My favourite book as a child was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. A movie of the book is rumoured to be opening on 26 December this year – like the three LOR movies did in turn for three years.

Author C. S. Lewis was a colleague of J. R. R. Tolkien and they would frequently discuss (over an ale or two) their respective novels, sharing ideas and criticising each other’s significantly different approaches to writing fantasy.

In their novels, while the return of Tolkien’s king was facilitated by massive armies sweeping across the plain, the return of Lewis’s king/god Aslan was unspectacular - until his Christ-like sacrifice brought victory over the darkest evil, a victory won not out of force or violence or vengeance but out of inherent strength and virtue – far more effective and of practical significance.

Of the six other Narnia novels, I think it is planned to make three or four into movies in due course. As a child I read avidly the other six books as well – The Magician’s Nephew (a parallel to the creation story), Voyage of the Dawn Treader (about the hope of eternal life), Prince Caspian, my current favourite The Silver Chair (hence the band’s name), The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, and The Last Battle (an End Times story). They would all make marvellous movies.

The Magician’s Nephew features rings as power objects. I often wonder which came first, Lewis’s rings or Tolkien’s rings? The moral is the same – playing with power objects you don’t understand is fraught with danger.

Speaking of power – I approach the racing this weekend with some trepidation – the left calf seems very tight and I am going to test it to the max! It’s make or break time; throwing caution to the winds, ignoring my pain and seeing what I can do. Ah, the perils of entering national events months before they are held. At least they are not team events; no one else is relying on me to do well.

And by the way there are some great photos of Team Moore runners in the masters program booklets.

Thank you all for your comments on the previous couple of posts. You are truly a Company of Heroes. I will keep you posted on how things go in the next few days. A big field in the M55 5000 on Monday, and some names I recognise of runners I haven't seen since the sixties, so no chance of a medal, but I will run like the wind.

Sunday, 2 October 2005

Today was my mother's 80th birthday so we partied with espresso coffee cake. Don't think I can run another step for a week!

This morning before all the eating I went for a long run (hobble actually - both achilles seem to be sore and a calf twinge or two did not feel real good) and I finally linked up two different routes I have run before to form one super-route - a very pleasant 65 minute run around the paths East of Elizabeth - my previous attempts at joining up the two courses, acouple of weeks ago, had resulted in me getting quite lost.

I also suffered two magpie swoopings - but I can't complain too much as that's the first time this spring they have bothered me. And I cannot have too much of this warm sunny weather.

How was the jogalong today guys, another short course hey? Helps the front markers I guess.

Saturday, 1 October 2005

Three days on the coast and I won't see my new baby tonight...Reporting from Elizabeth SA where we have just returned from three days of absolute waterfront at Port Elliot. Sun Surf Whales Sun Old buildings Surfers Sun and a beautiful newly renovated apartment. I ran from Port Elliot to Middleton and back one day, along walking paths and beach and a massive storm, Port Elliot Victor Harbour another along cycle paths near the coast, and six laps of Granite Island plus the causeway another day, much to the amusement of hordes of children on a holiday camp. And yesterday grandchild number nine arrived - Tyler Jesse Moore - unfortunately far away in Brisbane. But luckily at least one other grandparent is there to enjoy the occasion and to take many photos. Speaking of photos, Jenny is enjoying hugely her new camera so we might see a few holiday snaps on this blog when I return home.Fly goose fly!